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ON THE 



MANAGEMENT 



OF THE 



DAIRY. 




WRITTEN FOR THE USE OF DAIRYMEN, 



BY 



O. F. RADDATZ 



Professor of German and History, Baltimore City College. 



ON THE 



MANAGEMENT 



DAIRY. 



WRITTEN FOR THE USE OF DAIRYMEN, 



BY 



C. F. RADDATZ, 

Professor of German and History^ Baltimore City College, 



\ 



u. 



. J 






BALTIMORE: 

THE SUN BOOK AND JOB PRINTING OFFICE, 
187,. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by 

C, F. RADDATZ, 

lu tiie 9Q\gg of *he Librarian of GongresB, at "Washington . All rights re^e^ved. 



w 



i 



TO 

HON. HORACE GREELEY, 

OF NEW YORK, 

This little work is respectfully inscribed as a token of appreciation 
of the great efforts made by him to improve agriculture in the 
United States. 



PREFACE. 



If I venture to write on the management of the dairy, I 
am moved by tlie following reasons, viz. : 

First — The frequently-uttered complaint that good butter 
for leejnng is hardly to be obtained, and the prevailing want 
of system with so many of our American farmers in the 
management of the dairy. 

Second — The desire to give to others the benefit of my 
knowledge on the subject, partly obtained through my own 
observations, but mainly derived from conversations I had 
from time to time with my late father, a North German 
farmer in one of the most fertile districts on the Baltic, who, 
in consequence of his excellent improvements in dairy man 
agement, was made a member of the first agricultural socie- 
ties in Europe, receiving diplomas to that effect ; and 

Third— To add to the comfort of the citizens of my adopted 
country by furnishing them with good butter for their break- 
fast tables. 

But one correct method, based mainly upon principles ot 
natural philosophy, is possible. I am not so bold as to as- 
sert that mine is such, and I am also aware that not every 
farmer is able to make his establishment as comjilete as I 
would wish to ha\x' it. I onl}' ask that this method, acknow- 
ledged as first-rate by the most practical dairymen in Europe, 
be given a trial, and the result will, I think, prove that I have 



rendered useful service. The farmer may take from it what 
best suits his circumstances. Undoubtedly a good many 
things brought forward by me, my farming friends know 
already, but whether they are as well acquainted with the 
causes and influences which effect good or bad results in the 
matter, as it is desirable they should be, is not so certain. 
These, therefore, I will endeavor to explain. 

I shall always try to be plain and explicit, avoiding all 
theoretical expressions, which, at the best, arc but calcu- 
lated to tire our honest farmer and make him stick to the 
rules his father and grandfather followed before liim. I will 
be particularly obliged for any communication or hints 
from my readers on the x^rinciples and methods given in 
this little book; in fact, would most earnestly solicit them, 
for in that way a work of value to our foremost citizen, the 
farmer, might be the result. 



ON THE 



MAMGEMENT OF THE DAIRY. 



FEEBma TEE COWS. 

A good clover meadow is preferable to any other. White cloyer 
is again much better than red, because cows give better and richer 
milk from it. Red clover alone makes the milk watery. Next to 
it stands a good, healthy grass meadow, free from sour herbs. 

If the dairj' is particularly dependent upon the sale of milk or 
fresh butter in small quantities for immediate use, other things, 
such as timothy, beets, oil cake, meal, or small grain, etc., to pro- 
duce an increase of milk in the cow, may be used ; but if it is the 
intention to make a butter tliat icill keep, I would recommend only 
clover and good grass on the meadow as well as in the stall. To 
give grain of any sort to cows, when clover and good hay are 
abundant, is only excusable where a very advantageous custom for 
milk and fresh butter is on hand, or in consequence of unusually 
high prices of butter. It never makes the butter any better. 

STALL FEEBLKG. 

The greatest regularity and punctuality should be observed in 
winter stall feeding. Summer stall feeding I have only seen on very 
small farms. Proprietors of large farms were in most cases opposed 
to it, particularly from climatical reasons. 



8 

The grazing of the cattle in enclosed pastures is an excellent 
thing where the locality and a high state of cultivation admit of it' 
else a correct, judicious herding seems to answer better the preser- 
vation and advantageous use of the meadow, and is gaining ground 
among the dairy farmers. I have seen it practised successfully on 
large forms with numerous herds. It is the following : 

The herdsman (a sensible, active man) must have his herd in 
command as a major his battalion. The herd slowly moves ahead, 
nearly in a line. This order is got at by the herdsman walking in 
front and in the centre of the line, his two dogs flanking the wings. 
If the herd is small, one dog suffices. This is particularly necessary 
where the meadow is in the neighborhood of cornfields, to prevent 
their spoliation. The cows soon get used to this order, and all 
injurious running and chasing becomes unnecessary. Herding in 
this way has two advantages : 

1. The cows, in being prevented from running quickly over the 
pasture, do not crush more under theu* feet than they eat. Every 
grazing animal is much inclined to get ahead of its neighbor. This 
greediness in them, if not stopped by the herdsman, will cause a 
useless, hurtful running. 

2. The running in hot weather is injurious, because the milk in 
the udder becomes still more heated, and later would greatly hinder 
the forming of the cream. This nonsensical running, especially 
against the wind, is no doubt very often the cause of colic in the 
cow, and this dangerous sickness seems to attack the best cows 
soonest, because they eat quickest and greediest. 

The herdsman to whom a herd, such a large capital, is entrusted, 
should be, as I have said before, active and sensible, not old and 
decrepit. He should have some knowledge of veterinary practice, 
particularly know all about cows when calving. He should treat 



9 

well the animals under his care, not beat, kick, or unnecessarily 
run them. His implements, such as chains, ropes, etc., must be 
kept in order, and handy. 

THE COW HOUSE. 

Strict attention should be paid to all parts of the cow house; 
sound feed, cleanliness in the stalls, punctual feeding, likewise place 
the cows according to their temj^er, not two evil disposed animals 
together, also as the one or the other loves a warmer or cooler spot- 
The cow house should be airy, but not exposed to draft. The 
strewing of straw should be well attended to, the more the better 
for the cows, particularly in winter, when cold. The stalls must be 
cleaned three times a week, and the feeding floors or troughs swept 
twice a day. In fact, everything in the cow house should be calcu- 
lated to make the\animal feel comfortable in it. 

CLEAJ^LUfESS IJV THE COW HOUSE AJVD OF 
THE AJYIMALS. 

Perfect cleanliness "throughout the cow house, to keep out the 
stench, should be the rule, else the milk will suffer from it, even 
during the milking. And here I would call attention to an un- 
pardonable neglect so often met with at cow houses. I mean the 
perfect disregard of the valuable manuring fluid which is produced 
in cow houses and from dung hills, and which so often is left to run 
into a ditch or creek near by, instead of being caught in some vat 
or vessel, and used as a most valuable manure. Yet every farmer 
knows that without manure worn land cannot be cultivated. One 
must have seen European farms, where they cannot afford to waste 
anything, to make this great error in some American farms right 
glaring. Currying cows as an act of cleanliness I would recom- 



10 

mend, and the daily washing of the udder must be attended to by 
all means. All this has considerable influence on the health of the 
cow, as well as on her productiveness of milk. It now and then 
happens that a cow, heretofore good, suddenly shows a decrease in 
her milk. This never should be a reason for neglecting her ; on 
the contrary, she should have a very comfortable, clear, airy but 
warm place, and the best of feed. She will soon recover, provided 
an actual disease has not set in. In the tending of calves in the 
cow house, special regard should be paid to those which show the 
marks of future great milk productiveness, and as such are intended 
to be added to the stock of the dairv farm. 



WATERING. 

Fresh, pure water in the stall and on the field is as important as 
sound feed. 

THE MILKIJfG PLACE. 

Where the locality admits of it, the milking place should be as 
near as possible to the dairy. My reason for this is : In the hot 
season the milk leaves the udder very warm, and in this state, if 
driven or carried a long distance, easily curdles, a fact very detri- 
mental to the future process of butter-making, as I shall show 
later. It is even injurious if the object is but to sell fresh milk. 

Where circumstances do not permit a near proximity of the milk- 
ing place to the dairy, a shady and cool spot, where the cows are 
least bothered by flics should be chosen, else a good deal of milk 
will be wasted and made dirty by running and beating. The milk- 
ing place should be strewn with straw, to give the cows that want 
to lie down a clean and dry bed to keep their udders clean. 



11 

THE ICE HOUSE. 

Dairy farmers who can possibly afford it should build an ice house. 
Practical experience teaches, and natural philosophy demonstrates, 
that the milk must have taken a certain degree of warmth, 56 deg. to 
59 degrees Fahrenheit, to produce a good, not cheesy cream, suitable 
for buttering, and in order to have a thoroughly clean formation 
of the cream. This process, also, occurs at a higher tempera- 
ture, but the milk then easily -curdles, communicating this to the 
cream, and the latter again to the butter. The milk must have as- 
sumed a certain degree of sour before the cream separates from it, 
but it should not by any means be too sour. The quicker the milk 
raises the cream, the better the cream is ; consequently, the milk 
should be brought as quickly as possible to the temperature of 
56° to 59° F., (which makes a good thermometer all-important in 
a dairy). The cooling of the milk is done easiest by taking some 
large pieces of ice (small ones melt too soon) in a large tub, covered 
with a cloth, from the house to the milking place, and here dis- 
tributing them in the large buckets intended to bring the milk 
home. The milk is then poured on it, to remain, of course, no 
longer than necessary. To the bucketful a clean wooden plate 
(flat) of about the same circumference as the surface of the milk is 
put on it to prevent the spilling of it. The diameter of the buckets 
at the top should be less than at the bottom. This shape greatly 
prevents the spilling of the milk while driving. The wagon to 
which the buckets are liumj when driving home must be long and 
consist, in fact, of nothing else but two long beams resting on the 
axles. The longer the wagon the less apt the milk is to spill. But 
the best and purest ice, as a matter of course, can only be used. 
Ice houses above the ground are preferable to those under ground, 
because the ice remains cleaner and clearer in them and the water 
from it can more easily flow off. Below the surface of the ground 
the ice soon gets to smell, hence worthless for our purpose. 



12 

The wliole pi'ocess of milking and the transport home must he done 
quickly. Immediately on arriving at tlie dairy tlie milk is taken 
from the buckets, strained and poured into the bowls. 

MILK BOWLS. 

Since more attention has been paid to dairy management milk 
bowls have been made of different materials— iron, tin, zinc, earth- 
enware, glass and wood. All metal bowls, enameled on the inside, 
have the fault that the enamel easily breaks in some places, the 
milk penetrates through these cracks, sours from it, and thus be- 
comes useless ; besides, they are expensive for a beginner. Earth- 
enware bowls, well glazed on the inside, as used in England, are 
preferable, because they are cheaper, keep the milk cool, and the 
glazing is less apt to crack ; yet this will happen in carelessly hand- 
ling them, particularly in stowing them away one in another. Such 
damaged bowls should be immediately removed from the dairy, as 
they quickly spoil the milk in them. The shape of these bowls is 
not exactly what it should be. They are too small at the bottom ; 
but I am aware that it has its difficulties to make the sides as 
straight as they should be ; nevertheless, of late the shape is greatly 
improved. Glass bowls have also their faults. They likewise, as 
it seems, cannot be made with straight sides and bottom. They 
are easily broken and heated, retain, heat too long, and take, as I 
am told, electricity from the air. This last objection I can hardly 
grant and do not believe it to be of much influence. I rather con- 
sider this more the case with metal bowls. As far as cleanliness is 
concerned, the glass bowls stand highest. 

The old straight-sided wooden bowls, in some parts of Germany 
still in use, are, as to the shape and wear, preferable to any other 
but require a great deal of attention and work in keeping them 
clean. They should be made carefully in every part — no caulking 



13 

matter whatever used between the staves or bottom. Then- mate- 
rial should be hard, well-seasoned oak or beech, without knots, 
from which the acid has been well drawn. Their in and outside 
must be worked perfectly smooth, the hoops white and clean. They 
must be painted inside at least twice a year with the best of oil 
paint, (linseed oil, red lead and varnish,) and after painting and 
drying stand from eight to twelve days, filled with clean, cold 
water, renewing the latter daily at least twelve times. This pro- 
cess of renewing the water (twice or three times a day) should be 
kept up for three weeks. The dairy man will find it to his advan- 
tage to keep always a number of bowls in reserve, else he might 
be obliged to use some that are not thoroughly prepared. It is as- 
tonishing how quickly the milk acid penetrates into the wood, and 
when this is the case the milk in the vessel is lost. 

In drying the bowls in use, after scrubbing and rinsing, they should 
be placed in such a position as to allow all dampness to entu^ely 
evaporate as quickly as possible. In the hot sun they must not 
stand, as it hurts the wood. With all wooden vessels usod in the 
dairy I would urge the most minute finishing and cleanliness. If 
metal vessels, they should be scrubbed clean with ashes every day. 
If the place for cleaning the milk bowls aad the other dairy vessels 
is near the dairy, care should be taken to keep the door of the lat- 
ter shut while working, to prevent smoke, bad smells or steam from 
entering it. It is an excellent practice for the manager of the dairy 
to keep the door of his dairy locked and not allow any one who 
has nothing to do with it to enter it. 

Whatever kind of bowl may be used, before pouring the milk into 
them they should, cleaned and dried as they have been, again be 
carefully wiped out with a clean cloth. They should be strictly 
examined and smelled to be sure that every particle of sour has 
been removed. One cannot be too careful in this, for, although it 
does not matter much about the contents of one bowl, the spoiled 



14 

contents of one will surely ruin that of twenty and more when ii 
the further process mixed together. Comparing the different kindi 
of bowls, it seems as if the earthen have the advantage. They ari 
cheap, stand a good knock, and are easily cleaned ; but one shoul( 
reject those with bad glazing and too narrow at the bottom. 

In some of the first dairies in Germany, as I have said before 
they never ceased to use the old-ftisliioned wooden vessel or bowl 
objecting to all others, and I will now explain why its shape (equa 
diameter at top and bottom) is preferable. 



\i,;^^ 



Earthen Boid. Wooden Bowl. 

The formation of the cream in the milk occurs in small globule 
and fibres, which, as a greasy substance, lighter than the milfc 
wlien in the proper state for this process, rise perpendicularly t 
the surface. If this formation is to be miiform, the milk must stan 
equally deep in all parts of the bowl, from bottom to surface. A 
this cannot be with the shape of the earthen and glass bowl, (slan1 
ing upward and outward from a narrow bottom,) the milk roun 
the sides standing shallower, it is evident that owing to the smalk 
depth, less cream is contained in it, and will be more quickly cai 
ried through the process of cream formation than in the centre 
The consequence is a not equally formed cream. This disadvantag 
may be counteracted by an attentive supervision, since it mostl 
happens when the process of cream-forming is going on slowly- 
thus the cream on the sides having completely formed several lioui 
before that in the centre. If in this case the cream on the side 
oegins to look rough, or even shows small pustules, (which : 
always a sign of its being spoiled,) then not a moment should 1: 



15 

lost in skimming, no matter whether it bas fiuished forming in 
centre or not. These cases are rare, and should never happen with 
proper attention. The size of the milk bowls is in a measure 
dependent on the extent of the daiiy in which they are used; yet 
bowls too large should not be taken, as they are unhandy to work 
"With. Very small ones, however, are even less desirable, because 
the milk has too little surface in them, and therefore it does not cool 
quickly enough, besides they ta-ke up proportionally too much room 
in the dairy. A suitable Avooden milk bowl should have about 20 
inches diameter, and 3^ inches in height; an earthenware bowl 
about 15 inches diameter, and 3f inches in height. Glass bowls 
are generally taken somewhat smaller, on account of their liability 
to break. 

In hot weather the milk should not stand above two inches deep 
in the bowl. The cooler the air the deeper the milk may be in the 
vessel, but rarely much over three inches. An entirel}^ suitable 
milk bowl, of the shape of the old wooden vessel, of an easily 
cleaned, not souring material, not more easily broken and not dearer 
than the earthenware, might yet be invented, and would do splen- 
didly for a prize competition. 

THE DAIRY HOUSE. 

A suitable dairy must, for coolness sake, be always situated north 
or northeast. If the locality does not admit of this, shade trees 
should be planted in front of it. Trees are advantageous before 
any dairy, to prevent the warm air from entering, and to keep the 
flies olT. Some dairymen are even in favor of a dairy of triangular 
shape, thus exposing no front at all to the south. The dairy must 
be niry, roomy, 14 to 16 feet high, distant from the influence of all 
bad smells, and on a dry piece of ground. It must be built of new, 
burnt bricks, and have strong walls ; clay or rocks I would not 



16 

recommend, as the former easily crumbles to pieces, and the latter 
always retain dampness. Old bricks are no accomit ; they always 
mold again. The floor of tlie building should never be more than 
li or 2 feet below the ground, else moldy cellar air will be created. 
I should advise to have it about two feet above the ground, as a 
quicker flowing off of the water will be the result, and hence the 
•dairy be kept more easily clean and dry, through the readier fall 
of all liquids into the draining ditch surrounding the building. 
This fact is of vital importance. It requires very thick walls 
to keep out the heat. The walls on the outside might be cov- 
ered with pieces of turf or other bad conductors of heat, as practised 
with small ice houses above the ground. The dairy stands ^^'ith 
its three sides open to the air, that can strike it from all directions, 
About a foot above the ground small windows are made, from four 
to five feet apart. They should be provided with a small apparatus 
to open them, more or less, according to the strength of the wind 
They might, if necessary, have shutters over them, to close them 
entirely. Above these small windows are common- sized ones, aboul 
eight or ten feet from the ground, to give the required light and 
daily airing. These, as well as the lower, must have haircloth oi 
wire frames to keep out the flies. The frames in the upper windows 
are not necessary in winter. 

The ground area of the dairy is generally taken at from twelve 
to fourteen square feet per cow. Some dairymen calculate three 
bowls for each cow, and the necessary passages left. The walls anc 
ceiling must always be kept clean and white, that nothing crum 
bles off and ftills into the milk. In some dairies I have found tlu 
ceiling plastered, but consider this an unnecessary expense, and 
from chemical reasons, anything but advantageous. Plaster is sul 
phate of lime, which dissolves when moistened, takes up acids anc 
ammoniac from the air, and then smells moldy. I would, there 
fore, rather advise to place some pulverized plaster on plates fresl 



17 

eveiy morning into the dairy, and then take it out every evening 
with the ammoniac it has absorbed. (The plaster thus used is not 
thrown away, but makes good manure.) 

A solid stucco from time to time painted with oil paint or var- 
nish, and frequently washed, makes the best covering for walls and 
ceiling. The floor of the dairy should be made of bricks. Flag- 
stones I would not recommend, as they become damp upon a 
change in the weather. Particular attention must be paid in lay- 
ing and joining the bricks in the floor. The mortar between them 
must be kept in good condition, else little holes will be formed in 
which the moisture, after washing, is retained, and evaporating in 
warm weather quickly smells. When everything is washed clean, 
a mop or swab (such as used on ships, I would greatly recommend) 
is taken to remove the very last of moisture. This should be done 
well, for an evaporation of water in the dairy is injurious, as it 
creates sour air. Dry saw dust strewn on the floor nnd then swept 
out will be found advantageous in removing all moisture from it. 
As I have mentioned before, the floor should have a slight inclina- 
tion towards the draining ditch outside the building to make the 
water run oS" quickly. Besides, I would advise to have a few small 
trough- shaped gutters in the floor, which lead the water to the out- 
side into the draining ditch. The holes through which the water 
runs to the outside must have metal gratings a^ protection against 
vermin. I Avould urge to have these gratings placed in such a 
manner that the water runs through them perpendicularly, or 
rather falls through them. It runs quicker and leaves no dirt par- 
ticles. The draining ditch must have considerable fall to prevent 
all dirt or smelling water from accumulating in it. It should never 
be used as a drain for other purposes. The holes at the gratings in 
the dairy must be closed after being used. On the inside, round the 
walls to about two feet from the floor, a bordering of flagstones, or 

2* 



18 

hard, burnt bricks must run, for sliould the plastering run down to 
the floor it soon would be destroyed by the unavoidable splashing 
of water against it. 

The filled bowls must never stand immediately on the floor, but 
three-cornered pieces of wood of a suitable length and about two 
inches thick are put, according to the size of the bowls, under them. 
This is done to let the air strike freely under and on all sides of 
them, thus preventing the forming of moist, souring angles. The 
three-cornered shape is the most suitable, because it lies surest, and 
the bowls are placed best on them, likewise present the largest 
plane to the air for drying. When the bowls are removed from them 
they should be turned to let the side which lay next to the floor be 
exposed to the air and diy again. ( Why I object to shelves in the 
dairy I will explain later.) The newly filled bowls are on account 
of a better control of the whole, placed separate from the older 
milk. The passages between the rows of bowls must not be too 
narrow, or the female workers will sweep with their dresses over 
the milk and disturb the cream fonnation. Whenever the milk is 
in this act it should not be disturbed under any consideration. If, 
at such a moment, the surface is moved, an immediate standstill in 
the process is the consequence. The bowls, as well as their wooden 
rests, should not be knocked against. The draft from the small 
lower windows should never be such as to ruffle the surface of the 
milk in the bowls, even in the slightest degree ; some draft is never- 
theless necessary to carry off" the carbonic acid created from the 
mil!^. The vapors rising from the milk consist of gasses which, 
some heavier and some lighter than the air, have to be carried off 
by the draft from the lower and upper windows, as also by frecjuent 
washing of the floor, (which, of course, has to be dried up again 
immediately.) In summer the upper windows are left open. I 
have seen dairy houses through which, in stone gutters, a clear, 
cold stream of water w^as allowed to run to carry off the gas. This 



19 

is undoubtedly very advantageous, but it sLould then run swiftly, 
and not have any time to evaporate, as damp air is not admissible. 
Another advantage gained by it is the cleanliness of the draining 
ditch outside the buildmg. 

CLEAJYIJVG OF THE DAIRY HOUSE. 

In washing and cleaning the dairy house one should not be 
bound to certain hours, but to necessity. On a still, warm, dry 
day more frequent washing is necessary than when cold and windy. 
In this, one should make it a rule to work quickly and dry up im- 
mediately, not give the water a chance to evaporate, but only to 
carry off the gases. If in pouring the milk into the bowls some of 
it should be spilled, it must be forthwith removed, as also all dirt 
that may have been carried into the dairy house with the feet. 
Cleanliness! cleanliness and again cleanliness — above all, in the house, 
in all vessels, in the atmosphere, and with everybody about it, is 
most important in the dairy business. I never saw good butter 
without it. 

As soon as the manager enters the dairy house (which he should 
do very often, even if no particular business is going on in it) he 
should use his organs of sight and smell. If he finds anything 
unusual, he should not rest till he finds the cause of it, and if injuri- 
ous, remove it. He must not be satisfied with the common excla- 
mation, "I can't understand it." Everything can be understood 
and explained, and has its natural cause. I insist upon the man- 
ager being always clean in body and clothes, to set a good exam- 
ple to his helps. As a matter of course no person subject to chap- 
ped, or what is worse, sweaty hands, must be allowed to work 
skimming and buttering, under any consideration. In some 
countries, for instance in Holland, they are still stricter. 

I would add that the dairy house must not be used as a recepta- 



20 

cle for other victuals or dairj^ utensils. And this holds also goc 
for the butter house. The only article I alloAV to stand in them 
the drj^ salt used for the butter. Pantries or other provision roou 
should have no connection whatever with them. 



J^O SHELVES IjY THE DAIRY HOUSE, 

As I have said before, tlie filled milk bowls should stand upc 
the floor, not one bowl upon the other, much less upon shelve 
which, I am sorry to say, one finds still too often. My reasons ft 
it are : 

1. When the milk is in the act of forming the cream, acids an 
gases are created, which rise more or less high, according to tli 
condition of the atmosphere, and also fall again. It is all-importar 
that these gasses should be carried ofi" as quickly as possible b 
means of the lower windows in the house, else they will settle agai 
on the milk and cream and sour them, which would be highly ir 
jurious to the formed as well as partly formed cream. This cannc 
be properly prevented if the air is not allowed to strike freely ove 
the milk in the bowls. 

2. A quick cooling of the milk is of great importance, and if th 
bowls are put one upon another it would be interfered with. 

3. The temperature is cooler below than above. If the bowl 
stand in different degrees of warmth, the cream does not forii 
at the same time, which leads to a great deal of trouble. W( 
know that the temperature in a room gets higher as we ascend 
consequently the piled-up bowls would stand in dififerent degreei 
of warjnth. Since the cream formation in the milk under a tem 
perature of 56 to 59 degi'ees Fahrenheit is completest, yet under i 
wanner one forms, perhaps, quicker, but never so good ; the differ 
ence in the height of the stand of the bowls will cause an unequal 
uncertain cream f(.rmation Part of this cream will be bad, and 



21 

spoil the good when afterwards thrown together. Besides, 1 have 
noticed that the higher one gets in the dairy house the stronger the 
smell of the milk acid is perceptible if the airing has been neglected, 
and I conclude from this that some of the gases exhaled from the 
milk are lighter than the air, and hence rise. 

These light, sour gases undoubtedly settle on the upper bowls. 
If the shelves are around the walls, it is impossible for the air to 
circulate properly over them, a smaller evil, therefore, if the shelves 
stand in the centre of the building, but in both cases they remain a 
nuisance, and one can never give the dairy house the right sort of 
cleaning. Some dairymen I have known thought they were all 
right in keeping the milk of each milking on an equal height, but 
they soon found out that it took too many shelves and room, and, 
after all, was but a make-shift, which did not add to the getting of 
fine butter that will also keep, and the latter I consider as not to 
be obtained as long as these abominable fixtures (occasions of bad 
smells) are used in the dairy house. I admit that in winter, with 
the bowls on the floor, good and not too slow cream formation has 
its difficulties, but then I put them with their three-cornered rests 
on securely-standing wooden stools, about tliree feet high, and in 
this way place the milk in a warmer temperature from that on the 
brick floor. Large dairy farms should have a winter dairy house, 
which may be heated. 

THE WIJVTJEJB DAIRY HOUSE, 

A large and well regulated dairy should have a summer and 
winter dairy house— the latter to be heated. It need not be so 
large as the former— about eight square feet per cow is sufficient. 
In a northern climate, where nearly to the middle of May cold 
weather may be expected, such a building is very necessary. 
Where one house has to answer for both, a heating apparatus 



22 

should be attached to it, which always must be applied from the 
outside. To heat from the inside is apt to bring dirt and smoke 
into the dairy house, which would spoil all milk in it immediately. 
During ray sojourn in England, in the spring of 18G7, I noticed 
houses built of hollow bricks, through which a circulation of warm 
air was allowed to run. Heated walls round gardens I have fre- 
quently seen on the continent of Europe. At the great interna- 
tional exliibition in London, Prince Albert had a model building 
erected of hollow bricks comfortably fitted up as a dwelling for 
working people, and I think this sort of walls might be advantage- 
ously applied to winter dairy houses. If the dairy house is large, 
two small stoves are better than one large one, as the heat is then 
more equally divided. Whatever plan is adopted, one should be 
careful that no smoke enters the building. The best way of heat- 
ing at present in use is by means of steam pipes which run round 
the floor. A suitable winter dairy house has always paid for itself, 
as the fresh milk-butter in winter commands the highest prices. 

THE CHURJ^IJ^G HOUSE. 

Near the dairy house, and connected with it, or not, depending 
upon the locality, stands the building where the butter is made. 
It should be as cool as possible, about eight feet high, and with an 
arched roof. If necessary and large enough, it may also be used as 
a storeroom for the finished butter, but only if no other place can 
be found for it. The churning house should in every respect be 
kept as clean and free from the influence of bad smells a& the dairy 
house. It is also connected, through small gutters, with the drain- 
ing ditch outside, for the ready-made butter is inclined to take up 
bad smells from other things. 



23 

THE CHURM. 

Churns are made differently in shape and movement, but it ap- 
pears as if the round one, with circular moving paddles, has proved 
most suitable, because this motion is easiest obtained and the churn 
better handled, cleaned and made tight. It should never be too 
high, though, and of small diameter, but about two-thu'ds height to 
one-third diameter. 

It is necessary to have several churns, to be able to change now 
and then. By using one continually, particularly on large dairy 
farms where they churn every day, it is simply impossible to re- 
move the acid entirely from it if not given a chance now and then 
to dry thoroughly. A small churn for winter use will prove ad- 
vantageous. The small amount of cream during that season could 
not well stand long enough until in sufficient quantity to be 
churned in the large churn. I insist upon the greatest accuracy in 
making the churn ; particularly the inside must be smooth and 
nicely fitting in the staves. Round the bottom the staves must 
not form any unnecessary large depth in the chimes, which would 
be hard to clean ; in fact, no sinking places whatever should occur 
in the wood. The wood must be well seasoned, free from acid, and 
not taken from the heart of the tree, but from the outside rings. 
On account of its durability, oak wood is preferred. "What I have 
said of the careful manufacture of the chui-n applies also to all the 
other vessels in the dairy, only I would recommend white beech as 
the material for the smaller ones. The cleaning of the churn, and 
everything appertaining to it, must be attended to immediately after 
cliurning— not a moment should be lost. 

In some dairies chemical means are employed to clean the churn 
quickly, more radically, and to destroy the milk acid. This may be 
right enough, but I should say more expensive, and in the hands of 
inexperienced persons uncertain. The oldfashioned way — a good 



24 

rinsing with hot water, plenty of cold water after it, a careful 
sciiibbing with a clean white brush, not leaving a place untouched, 
particularly at the bottom, in the chimes, alw^ays suffices. This 
done, the churn is put in the fresh au\ exposing it to the wind, 
(not to the hot sun,) till it is perfectly dry and free from smell. It 
is an excellent custom to wipe the inside again with a clean linen 
cloth. That the churn should also be kept clean on the outside is 
a matter of course. Before putting it to use again the manager 
should look at it and smell it himself, whether any sour smell can 
be discovered. This duty he should never leave to others, for he 
alone is responsible. A manager with weak organs of smell is of no 
use about a dairy. Never, and under no consideration, should the 
churn be allowed to stand in the dairy house. While being churned 
the cream creates a large quantity of sour gases, which espaping 
from the churn would enter the dairy house and settle on the milk 
in it. This is readily perceived by standing close to the churn and 
somewhat higher. A very strong, sour smell is noticed then. The 
locality where the churning is done must be kept as clean as the 
others, and above all, airy and cool. The temperature should never 
be above 40 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, from reasons I will state 
later. 

BUTTER STOREROOM. 

The cellar or storeroom where the read3'-made butter is kept, 
should be as cool as possible, dry and free from smell. It should 
not be used for other purposes. Its size is dependent upon the ex- 
tent of the dairy, but rather large than too small, as the firkins 
should stand upright and not lie. Under them wooden rests are 
put, similar to those used in the dairy house, and strong enough to 
bear the weight of the firkins of butter. 



This closes for the present my descriptions of the buildings and 
vessels of the dairy, and I will now speak of the actual butter- 
making. 

THE MILKIMG. 

The milking is done early in the morning, and in the evening, 
shortly before sunset. To milk three times a day I do not think 
advisable, and have never seen good results from it. With a very 
abundant feeding and first class cows, more milk is perhaps ob- 
tained, but very little more butter, a proof that the milk is not so 
rich as when milked twice a day. Experienced dairymen are of 
opinion that milking three times a day, even with plentiful feeding, 
is too hard on the cow. It appears as if the milk takes a certain 
time (twelve hQurs) for its completion. Besides, in milking at 
noon, during the greatest heat of the day, the milk, in being brought 
to the dairy house, becomes easily cheesy, and as it, or at least its 
cream, after that is mixed with the other milkings, it will spoil them 
also. The manager should always have water at the milking place 
to wash the udders, in case thej^ should be dirty. In the stall this 
is always necessary. He should also see that every udder is strip- 
ped of the last particle of milk. This is all-important for several 
reasons : 

1. It has been proved that the last milk which comes from the 
udder is the richest. 

2. One has observed that cows which have not been entirely 
stripped of their milk gradually give less. It appears as if the milk 
matter in the cow goes to fatten the animal if not drawn from the 
udder. 

To milk regularly at a fixed hour every day I would greatly 
recommend. The manner in which the milking is done should also 
be well considered. The teats, slightly moistened, must be taken. 
3 



26 

hold of with the whole hand, and not with two or three fingers. 
This last manner, to which some milkers get accustomed, is un- 
doubtedly hurtful to the c >w, and may easily make the udder sore. 
It is often done when the milker's hand has been hurt in someway ; 
hence the manager should always see that every hand engaged in 
milking is sound. The milking, carrying home and straining 
should be done as quickly as possible. The warmer the weather 
the quicker the milk should be got into the bowls and brought to 
the state of cream formation, for the more rapidly the cream is 
drawn from the milk the better the cream, and the better the cream 
the better the butter. Experience has shown that the more butter 
obtained from a given quantity of milk, the better the butter. To 
put as near as possible the same quantity of strained milk into each 
bowl, a porcelain measure (for cleanliness sake) should be used. 

TREATMENT OF THE MILK LW THE BOWLS. 

When the milk is in the bowls and put into the dairy house, all 
dirt and milk which may have been spilled in filling the bowls 
having been removed, the time of strictest attention for the manager 
begins. The greatest quietness should now reign in the dairy 
house, that the process of cream formation may go on undisturbed. 
The thermometer should be consulted frequently, and the tempera- 
ture regulated by opening or shutting the windows, in order to 
keep it as near as possible at 50 to 59 degrees Fahrenheit. I repeat 
ao-ain that this degree is the most favorable. Under 5G degrees, the 
act of cream formation goes forward too slowly ; above 59 degrees, 
fast, but not so perfectly, the cream easily becoming cheesy, because 
too high a degree of warmth too rapidly develops the acid in the 
milk and spoils the cream. 

Tlie manager should not bind himself to a certain time — that is, 
he should not take it for granted that the milk must have a certain 



27 

time to form its cream completely. This would lead to great mis- 
takes, for the temperature in the dairy house, as well as that at the 
time of milking and bring mg the milk home, besides the state of 
the atmosphere, such as a sultry heat preceding a thunderstorm, or 
very dry, etc., would have great influence, so much so that a differ- 
ence in time of six to twelve hours may occur in the act of cream 
formation. This is particularly the case where the dairy house is 
not properly arranged for regulating the temperature. Other and 
sure signs must show the right time for skimming, and these are 
the following : 

1. When the manager sees that the cream has formed a tolerably 
thick skin, he must taste it, not with his fingers, but with a small, 
clean spoon. If tlie cream begins to have a slight taste of sour not 
agreeable, and a little biting to the tongue, the time for skimming 
has arrived. This peculiar taste is ha-rd to describe, but the man- 
ager, if attentive, will soon distinguish it. 

2. A still more noticeable sign of the completed cream-foiTQation 
is a roughness of the surface of the cream, and a loosening from 
the sides of the bowl. Then the skimming must be immediately 
attended to, for it is the highest time, and even a little too late. 
This is easily explained. The roughness on the cream has its origin 
in the too great an amount of acid or fermentation in the milk, and 
the loosening of the cream from the sides of the bowl is caused 
by the decrease of the quantity of milk in the bowl, which again is 
brought about by the acid developing itself more and more, and 
which makes the milk eat itself. The upper layers of the milk, and 
especially the cream, are particularly attacked by the acid, hence 
the manager should make haste to remove the cream from the milk 
before it sours and grows less in quantity. When the manager is 
practiced in the above-mentioned tasting, he will not have to wait 
for the falling of the milk in the bowl, and will get better cream still. 



28 

This argues that an attentive and good manager should be ready 
at any time, late at night or before sunrise, to take advantage of 
the right moment for skimming. 

A proof that the milk has gone well through the process of cream- 
formation is the soft, liver-like mass at the bottom of the bowl; if 
hard and tough it has stood too long. I do not believe that there 
.are dairymen now-a-days who labor under the mistake that the 
thicker the cream the more butter they will get, and who wait till 
the surface of the cream shows thick, rough pustules of a }ellow- 
ish gray color. If there are such men still, I can assuie them most 
emphatically that from such cream they will get very little and 
miserable butter. The trial is easily made, and the result will 
prove it. 

SKIMMIJfG. 

The cream completely formed, the skimming commences. To 
be able to change, two clean tubs, sufUciently high for the skimmer 
to bring the bowl comfortably and quickly to the upper rim, are 
ready to receive the cream. To make it still easier for the worker, 
a little rest for the bowl to stand on during skimming is fixed to 
the tub. In most dairies these tubs have w^ooden covers, but I do 
not consider them so suitable as a cover of a thin linen stuff or 
hair-cloth, because an evaporation which undoubtedly goes on still, 
and which is easily smelled in stirring the cream, should be allowed. 
If there are many bowls to skim, the skimmer should have some 
ore to hand the full bowls to him and remove the skimmed ones. 
The thick, sour milk which remains in the bowl must be immedi- 
ately removed from the dairy house, as also the empty bowls 
cleaned again as soon as possible. In some dairy liouses I have seen 
a very good arrangement for (juickly removing the sour milk from 
them. In the inside wall a hole about eighteen s(iuare inches large. 



29 

with a tightly-closing valve or lid, was made, connecting on the 
outside with a wooden gutter. During skimming the valve was 
opened and through the hole a pipe about one foot long was run, 
on which a tolerably wide funnel had been previously fixed. Into 
this funnel the sour milk was poured, and carried olT by the gutter 
on the outside. Immediately after using this apparatus the valve 
should be cleaned and then well closed, to prevent the sour smell 
from entering. I would mention here that the wooden gutter 
v^ilich carries the sour milk into a large tub, to be used as food for 
pigs, must be cleaned frequently, as also the tub which contains 
the food, else the latter wiU quickly spoil, and create sickness 
among the pigs. 

The tub is easily cleaned by filling it with a strong, hot lye, 
which is kept hot for several hours by putting heated bricks or 
rocks into it. A good rinsing with water must follow. Cleanli- 
ness here, as everywhere. But to return to the skimming. 

The bowl is brought to the cream tub, and the cream nicely 
pushed off, not with the hand, but with small laths of horn, thin 
bone, or soft, easily bending wood, respectively 8, 10 or 13 inches 
long, 1 to 11 inch wide, and thin enough to bend. With these 
laths the cream is more easily removed from the milk than with the 
hand, and they are altogether more cleanly. The short lath is used 
to loosen the cream from the side of the bowl, and to remove the 
small remaining pieces of cream. The cream must not stand long 
before it is churned, and in order to give it the necessary stickiness, 
capacity of decomposition and sour for churning, it must be stirred 
frequently with a clean white stick while in the cream tub. It is 
then poured through a clean haircloth strainer into the churn. 



30 

Where the dahy house is not complete in its arrangements, or 
during cold weather, the required state for churning of the cream 
may be brought about by warming it, not by mixing it with hot 
water, but by slowly warming a few quarts of cream in an earthen- 
ware vessel, and then stirring it into the mass. If there is sufficient 
cream to churn every day, all the better, but longer than two days 
the cream must not stand. For this reason, it is hardly possible 
that small dairies can furnish butter for keeping and export, be- 
cause the cream has to stand too long before a sufficient quantity is 
on hand to make it worth wiiilc to churn. In dairies where cheese 
is made the cream is removed when 5'et quite sweet. All cream 
particles still remaining in tlie milk then go to make the cheese 
richer. Tl e butter in such dairies is particularly sweet. At least 
eighty to one hundred cows belong to a profitable and well-regu- 
lated dairy. 

It is astonishing to see people even now work themselves down 
for hours, and throw away time and labor, without going to the 
trouble to think why it churns quicker one time than another, and 
yet it is so easily understood. It is well known that in a very warm 
atmosphere, as well as in too cold a one, it churns slowly. Now 
most people, according to circumstances, pour hot or cold water 
into the churn, and then work aAvay at it again. Occasionally they 
happen to succeed, but assuredly a soft, greasy and cheesy butter 
will be the result, for through the heat an artificial separation of 
the greasy particles has been hurried on, but not completely devel- 
oped. The good folks, nevertheless, rejoice in their success, and 
take it to be the light Avay. Then again they find this will not do, 
but having a faint idea that the cream must be too warm, or too 
cold, more water is resorted to, to the great detriment of the butter, 
never thinking that it is the atmospheric air w^hich either retards 



31 

or advances the churning. Air is necessary for the separation of 
the greasj^ particles from the whey or water particles. The stir- 
ring and beating of the dasher in the cream serves to crush the 
greasy globules, and to bring them to the surface to let the air act 
on them. Before the separation of the butter from the mass, the 
latter begins to foam, consequently absorbs air. This, no doubt, 
gave the idea of the atmospheric churn. 

Having frequently stated before, that the proper degree to have 
a complete and healthy separation is 56 to 59 degrees Fahrenheit, 
care sTioidd be taken that the cream in iJie churn has this degree. 
Then, above all, the temperature in the building where the churning 
is done must be from four to six degrees colder than the cream^ 
for the action of cooler air is indisper sable. These feio rules ob- 
served, solid, good butter, and quicJdy made, will be the residt. This is 
the whole secret. If everything is arranged in the dairy house as I 
have described it, the cream will have from the beginning the proper 
degree of warmth. Where this is not the case, I advise to warm 
the cream gradually by warming a few quarts as described above, 
and then mix it with- the mass. Do not use hot water. The churn 
itself may, i>erhaps, be warmed. Cold water or clean ice used in 
churning, if necessary, does not hurt, but it is a mistake to think 
that it adds to the excellence of the butter. Some dairymen pre- 
tend to say that it sours the cream, but for my part I do not think 
BO, if it is used sensibly. When the above-mentioned conditions — 
50 degrees in the churn and 50 degrees outside— are fulfilled, no ice 
is necessarj^, ahhough I consider its other uses in the dairy of great 
value. 

THE ATMOSPHEIilC CHURjY. 
As I mentioned, the principle of the atmospheric churn rests on 
the fact of a stream of cooler air rushing through the milk or cream 
while churning. I am convinced that the use of an atmospheric 



32 

churn 1ms its great advantages, since the milk may be churned im- 
mediately after Jleaving the cow, consequently the building of a 
dairy house and the buying of bowls may be saved. Every com- 
mon churn, I should say, might be altered into an atmospheric 
churn. Very likely the trials have not been made correctly, and 
perhaps the main thing, the right temperature, has not been suffi- 
ciently tali en into consideration, else this procedure ought to have 
been employed to a greater extent. Some persons object to the dif- 
ficulty of cleaning the churn, but I do not admit of these objections' 
since tlirough the great saving of expense the little trouble of clean- 
ing is more than balanced. As to excellence and amount of butter 
got from it, opinions are too much at variance for me to allow m}'- 
self to pronounce upon the subject for the present. 

THE SWEET MILK BUTTER. 

A method similar to the above is employed at a good many 
places— I mean the churning from milk which has not gone tlirough 
the process of cream formation. It is done in the following man- 
ner : ThemilK is poured into a large vessel of the shape of a bucket, 
but somewhat narrower at the top than bottom, and remains in it 
until it turns a little sour and begins to slightly thicken. It must 
not curdle completdy. The mass is frequently stirred, till it becomes 
sticky and ropy, when it is ready for churning. A butter thus 
gained has, if eaten fresh, a still more agreeable taste than that from 
cream, but it does not keep, and is less in (piantity. In winter I 
would recommend this process, for then there is danger that the 
cream stands too long before a sufficient quantit}^ is on hand to 
justify a churning. The reason why sweet milk butter docs not 
keep so well as that from the cream might be explained thus : The 
milk has not gone through the proper fermentation or ci-eani form- 
ation process, the pure grease particles have not separated, and too 



"i\\ 



much wliey remains in the butter, which cannot entirely be removed 
by working, and wiiich, in standing some length of time, spoils the 
butter. In cool weather such butter will occasionally keep sweet 
for a month, but then turns rancid. After all, the richest and fattest 
butter is that made from the cream. 

jrOBKLJ\^G THE BUTTEB. 

The solid, good butter taken from the churn is put into a three 
or four legged tub, the bottom of which has a hole at one end, of a 
size easily closed by the cork of a common quart bottle. The legs 
should be arranged to give the tub a slanting position towards the 
hole, to make the liquid from the butter run off quickly. Under 
the hole stands a 'bucket to receive the liquid. The bucket must be 
frequently emptied and cleaned. The butter is formed into a flat, 
smooth cake, and in doing this is thrown several times vigorously 
against the bottom and sides of the tub, to throw off the rougher 
milk particles still adhering to it. If the quantity of butter in the 
tub is too large to be handled thus, it is divided into smaller pieces, 
and each of them worked separately. As a matter of course, the 
pieces already worked have to be removed from the tub to prevent 
their being bespattered again. Tliey are then made into one cake, 
if the quantity is not too large to be handled conveniently, in which 
case two cakes are made of it. The throwing of the cake against 
the bottom and sides of the tub may be repeated about six times, 
as this will suffice to remove first the rougher milk particles, which 
must be washed out of the tub immediately. I object to having the 
butter washed or water thrown over it, and only admit of it if the 
locality where the working is done is not sufficiently cool to keep 
the butter sohd, but then only cool, clear and perfectly tasteless 
water must be used. At any rate, actual necessity only can war- 



34 

rant it. The loss the butter comes into contact with water tlie 
better it is. 

Tlie cake is then covered witli a clean linen cloth to lessen the 
influence of the air and to keep the flies ofl". If the loculit}^ is risi,iit 
cool the covering is not necessary. In this state the butter remains 
for half an hour. This is done to give the still adhering rougli 
milk particles a chance to flow off, and to advance this the cake is 
frequently pressed with the flat of the hand. The cake should al- 
waj's lie at the upper end of the tub, not touching the sides. The 
half-hour passed, we salt the butter. The salt used for this purpose 
must be free from bitter and of fine white quality. It must be well 
dried and crushed before using it, for the finer and drier it is the 
quicker it dissolves, and this is exactly what we want. Rough, 
moist salt dissolves slowly, and is of no use ta us, as I shall show 
presently. One must not stint with the salt, rather a little too 
much than too little. Five pounds of best salt for the 100 lbs. of 
butter intended for long keeping suffices. Butter sold fresh takes 
less. After the butter has been salted it is formed again into a flat 
cake, and left to lie till the salt is completely dissolved. If the salt 
has been diy and fine this will be the case within four to five 
hours, but I would rather advise to wait six or seven hours. The 
salting of the butter in so short a time after being taken from the 
churn is very necessary, and must not be neglected, because suffi- 
cient moisture is still in it to dissolve the salt quickly, and the dis- 
solved salt is our main agent to help us to expel the milk and whey 
still in the butter, more completely. AVe want the pure butter, free 
from whey, and all injurious substances must be removed. Milk, 
whey and water particles spoil easily, and give to the butter the 
fishy, sour taste called rancid. Pure butter, if properly treated, 
keeps a long time Avitliout suffering in the least. The salt being 
dissolved, the actual working the butter begins. 



35 

According to the size of the cake of butter, we take a piece of 
three or four pounds from it and commence to press it ; take it up 
and tlirow it against the bottom and sides of the tub, then break it 
in the middle, to get the inside out, press it and throAv it again, 
continuing thus till the liquid from it is entirely clear and colorless 
when it is put in a clean bowl. The whole cake is worked in this 
manner, but lies during the working of its pieces in a separate vessel, 
to prevent its being bespattered again. The three or four-pound 
pieces are now taken, two-and-two, formed into six or eight pounds, 
and worked again as above, to see whether any milk particles are 
still in them. The liquid from them is tasted, and as long as it has 
a sour taste or a milky color we must continue to work them, and 
when convinced that they are free from all whey, we add again two- 
and-two, making sixteen po md pieces of them, and these are large 
enough. Very expert dairy-helps even work the pieces to twenty- 
four pounds. 

Frequently, through too great an ardor in working the pieces, 
the ]3utter is overworked ; by that means we press all moisture and 
salt out of it and get a dry, crumbly article. Of this good care 
should be taken, for it is all-important for the preberving of the 
butter that the liquid salt remains in it, and it is by no means diffi- 
cult to avoid this error. As I have said before, we should work 
till the liquid from it is clear, colorless, and free from sour — not any 
lonner. The butter must not lose its moisture. With a little at- 
tention and experience this is easily learned, if we work sensibly, 
and I can assure my readers that in following my method this very 
serious and frequent error in the making of butter will not occur. 

The butter is now ready, but to be sure, we taste it again to find 
out whether perhaps not too much salt has been lost in working it, 
fv>r it is reasonable to suppose that through the pressing, breaking 
and throwing about of the cake this could not entirely be pre- 



36 

vented. If more salt is needed, it is not necessary to work it into 
it, but merely take the cakes, of a size according to the quantity on 
hand, press them flat, and to the 100 pounds add one to two pounds 
di-y, fine salt hetioeeii tliem, then form the whole into one large cake 
and put it into the butter tub. Our next duty will now be to keep 
our butter as much as possible from the action of the air, for, parti- 
cularly during the hot season, it is injurious. If we have a sufii- 
cient quantity to fill a firkin, we must put it into it immediately ; if 
not, we cover the butter with a clean linen cloth, two or three 
double, which has been previously moistened in a solution of salt 
and water, and put it into the butter-tub provided with a tight-fitting 
cover. It must not lie too long in here, and for that reason I would 
recommend firkins of 50 or 100 pounds, not larger. Of butter-tubs, 
I would have several on htind, to be able to change. They must be 
frequently scalded with hot water to keep them from souring. 

A good many dairymen, particularly those of the old school, will 
wonder why I do not employ kneading, or their fovorite trowel, in 
my working of butter. I decidedly object to kneading and the 
trowel. I only allow it at the salting to form the layers, never in 
working the butter. The reason for working the butter is to sepa- 
rate the pure butter from the whey and water. By the use of the 
trowel and the kneading, exactly the contrary is brought about. 
The whey and water particles are only pressed the firmer into it, 
and the butter obtained will be short, waxy and greasy, instead of 
solid, clear and pure. The use of my method is best proved by the 
price my butter wiU fetch. 

PACKIA'G THE BUT TEE. 

To keep the butter from the injurious action of the air, it should 
be packed into firkins as soon as possible. The firkin must be 
fiUcd at once, not gradually and at different times. The surface of 



37 

the butter in the centre of the firkin must be made a little higher 
than the sides, because in standing it nearly always sinks there. 
Firkins holMng 50 or 100 pounds, the weight of the wood from 6 
to 7 and 12 to 14 pounds respectively, are suitable for every market. 
In packing, the different flat pieces of butter are firmly pressed into 
the firkins to expel all air, and when filled, the surface is smoothed 
by means of a small wooden lath, and covered half an inch thick 
with coarse, moist salt, gently pressed down on it. Towards the 
sides the salt may lie a little thicker. The moist salt soon forms a 
solid mass, thus shutting off the air entirely. 

This method has also the advantage of preventing the butter from 
sticking to the firkin, for the moistened salt gradually dissolves, 
and running down the staves, keeps the sides of the butter moist. 

The heads of the firkins are now put on loose, and the whole 
placed in the cellar. If they have to stand long, it will be neces- 
sary to add, now and then, a little salt round the sides, where it 
will have diminished. Before putting the butter into the firkin, the 
bottom of the latter is covered with a layer of dry, coarse salt, 
about one-fourth of an inch thick. It is a very good practice to fill 
the firkin, an hour before its use, with a clean, strong solution of 
salt and water, to remove all fresh wood smell from it. This solu- 
tion may be used several times, and is not so expensive. Should 
this, nevertheless, be thought, I would at least have the inside of 
the firkin well rubbed with moist salt. To Jill the firkins, before 
'packing, with water, and leave them stand for hours, is as useless as it is 
injurious. They are made of the outer rings of well-seasoned beech , 
and perfectly dry, have no acid to hurt, and will only absorb the 
water, and spoil their nice, clean appearance ; besides, the water 
taken up by the staves would soon smell, and communicate this to 
the butter. 



3S 

If the firkins are that hadly made that they need water to make 
them tight, they should never be used ; and as to the fresh wood 
smell, my method mentioned above suffices completely. 

Every well-regulated dairy should have, according to its trade, a 
certain amount of firkins on hand,/<9r they must wait for the butter^ 
not the hiitter for them. They should be kept at a dry, airy place. 

The covering of the butter with a solid salt layer may also be 
advantageously employed in putting up small quantities in earthen 
jars. After a while the butter will stand perfectly free from the 
sides in the vessel, moist, and a solid, sweet mass, keeping a long 
time. 

Whenever the firkins are to be sent away, the loose salt is gently 
removed from the top, and the head put on for good. The salt 
removed may be used again for the same purpose. The surface of 
the butter has now a thin^ transparent cover of salt, lohich must not be 
meddled loith on any account. 

STOWlJfG OF FILLED FIRKIJfS. 

From Avhat I have said of the filling of firkins, it is evident they 
should stand upright, and never lie. They must stand on strips of 
wood, a foot from the ground, to admit of a free circulation of the 
air under and round them, and should never be turned, as it would 
bring the butter still more in contact with the wood, which we 
intend to avoid as much as possible. For the same reason, they 
should not lie. 

To leave the butter stowed away too long in firkins, perhaps to 
speculate on higher prices, I would not recommend, because it 
would suffer from it ; besides, scarcely ever is the cellar large enough 
to admit of a proper stowage of a great number of firkins. Dry 
and cool cellars are also seldom found. The covering of the inside 



39 

'of the firkin with paper is nonsense, and does no good whatever, 
and would nevei- do for the Eni^lish market. 



THE SHAPE OFFIBKIJVS. 

The shape of the firkins must not be heavy bellied, but rather 
slender, and no long and awkward looking wooden nails should 
be used in fastening the bottom and hoops. My reasons for this 
are: 

1. In removing the hoops and staves from a firkin of butter in 
the market, to expose the contents as a sample to the buyer, the 
slender shape is the most convenient. 

2. Those long nails penetrate into the butter and spoil it. They 
also give the sides of the exposed lump of butter a bad appearance, 
since they are apt to dig into it while the hoops and staves are 
being taken off. They hardly ever can be all extracted, as some of 
them invariably will break off. The stripping of at least one or 
two lumps of butter of their wood will be pretty much always 
required by wholesale buyers, and this argues that the finish of the 
firkins on the inside should be as smooth and nice as on the out- 
side. If this is not the case, the butter will stick to the uneven 
places, notwithstanding the precautions in packing, and a clean 
and nice stripping of the wood from the butter can not be accom- 
plished, and the outside of the lump will look uninviting, to the 
detriment of the seller. 

The hoops should look nicely white, and must fit accurately, to 
do away with those miserable wooden plugs. In forwarding the 
firkins, a few small iron tacks, long enough to barely fasten the 
hoops to the staves, suffice completely. The empty firkin should 
have a weiglit of 13 to 14 pounds to the 100 pounds of butter. This 
I have found to be customary in the trade. The bottom, and par- 
ticularly the head, should not be too heavily made, and I mention 



40 

this because some of tlie buyers will get scared, and judge from it 
the weight of the other wood. Thej^ then would very likf ly insist 
to have several firkins stripped in order to weigh the wood. The 
honest man w-ould rather avoid this suspicion and trouble. The 
firkin should not be lighter though than the custom of the market 
calls for ; it would lead to trouble and dispute. A good cooper is 
not apt to make a mistake, and will hit the weight pretty closely. 
The wholesale buyer in most cases will look to all these things 
being complied with ; and it is foolish to bargain about a few^ cents 
in the price of firkins with a good cooper who knows his business. 
The firkins should not be marked with chalk or other material lia- 
ble to dirty them, but kept as clean as possible. Dirt on the outside 
might argue dirt on the inside. 

The buyer likes to see the name of the farm plainly and neatly 
branded on the firkin, and good dairymen consider it an honor to 
have their names become known in this way, which I consider a 
very laudable ambition and worthy of imitation. 

COLORIM'G OF BUTTER. 

The barbarism of coloring the butter is, I am sorry to say, still 
more or less in use, and since the consumer very often insists upon 
being deceived, I suppose he has to be gratified. It never should be 
done though to a higher degree than a nice summer color. Even in 
Spain and Portugal, where they used to demand nearly a dark yel- 
low butter, they prefer a lighter shade now. Only the ))est and 
freshest of Annotta should be used in coloring (most all other ma- 
terials known to me I consider dangerous). A good article is soft 
and without smell, and wiien quite fresh has a slight violet smell. 
The funny stories about its mauufocture are a fable. A trial of its 
purity and excellence consists in rubbing a piece on white paper, 
when it should show a fine orange color. 



41 

In some dairies I noticed a mixture of three parts of Annotta 
and one part of Turmeric, which I was told would give the butter 
a fresher coloring, and this may be so, provided the Turmeric is to 
be had fresh and without smell. The process of coloring the but- 
ter is the following : Four pounds of butter and one pound of 
Annotta in a porcelain or earthen pot are put on a gentle fire to 
simmer for two hours, taking care to stir it frequently ; it is then 
strained through a piece of fime linen. If the Annotta is good the 
mass in the linen has sufficient coloring matter left to add another 
four pounds of butter and repeat the process. The color gained 
the second time may be safely mixed with the first. To boil too 
large a quantity at once gives not so good a color. 

There are several ways to mix this prepared color with the but- 
ter. I consider best to mix it with the fine crushed salt intended 
for the salting of the butter and thus transfer the color into it. 
One should be quick about it though, and rub the salt rapidly and 
well between the hands, in order to color it equally, else the butter 
will present a striped appearance. Another method is : Take 
half pound of the butter to be colored on a dish, mix it with the 
prepared color, and with it in turn the remaining larger quantity. 
This sJiows that the coloring process must he always done either irriTne- 
diately before salting or together wtth it, as the mixing is easiest then. 
I should say any method is good which prevents unequal coloring 
or a striped look of the butter. 

To give the necessary quantity of the prepared color for a certain 
weight of butter is scarcely possible, as it is entirely dependent 
upon the appearance of the butter before coloring and upon the 
wish of the buyer. As a general thing, three table spoonfuls are 
taken for the twenty-five pounds, and in case tlie butter should be 
very pale, a little more. The color must never be hot when mix- 
ing, but only warm, else it will make the butter spotted. 

4* 



42 

With this I close my treatise on the actual dairy management, 
and shall now speak of some of the sicknesses to which cows are 
liable, and what I know of their cure. 

In spring, after the first moderate and wai*mer days, the cows begin 
to get uneasy in the stall, and this has already a material influence 
on the milk and butter. As soon as the herd is driven on the 
meadow the cows eat voraciously of the young green grass, and 
diarrhoea is the consequence, which soon makes them thin and 
sick This state lasts, according to the weather, eight to fourteen 
days ; they get better then and begin to give plenty and good milk. 
The milk and butter obtained from them during this sickness is 
bad. I would recommend against it, at least to mitigate it, to give 
the cows as early as green feed can be obtained, some of it with 
their dry feed. In the beginning very little, and gradually more, 
till they are driven out on the meadow entirely. They must not 
have too much of this mixed feed right away, else they will not eat 
the dry feed any more. 

This method is particularly advantageous for such farms as have 
an abundance of dry hay and clover to last them till far on in 
the spring, and where tlie cows are driven on the meadow for good 
when the green feed is flourishing. 

I am convinced that such a gradual preparing for the green feed 
will prevent, in a measure, the very dangerous colic in cattle. This 
fatal sickness occurs most frequently on rich clover meadows, but 
also in the stall, where otlier feed is used, for instance, those nasty 
slops from distilleries. 

According to the opinions and experience of veterinary surgeons, 
this sickness is caused by too rapid and voracious swallowing of 
the feed, overcrowding the stomach too quickl3\ A sudden gen- 
erating of sour gasses follows, wliich, if not expelled forthwith, 
•will swell the animal to such a degree that death must speedily fol- 



43 

low. Some veterinarians think that the overcharging of the 
stomach is not always alone the cause of the swelling up; they 
have noticed in dissecting the animal that particles of the feed had 
stuck in the throat, which caused a difficulty in breathing, from 
which they argue an anxiety in the cow and with it a more rapid 
working of the lungs, thi'ough which the swelling received an ad- 
ditional impulse. Other observations have also shown that the 
puffing up very often occurs, if in the morning, particularly after a 
heavy dew, the herd walks against the wind. (Here I would call 
attention to the herding I recommended in the commencement 
of my little book, and which I consider a protection against this 
sickness.) A good many remedies are used to cure the colic, such 
as the giving, internally, of unslacked pulverized lime (a table- 
spoonful) in fre^h milk; half a pound Of white sugar, also, dissolved 
in milk ; oil of tobacco in whiskey, etc. Many things will help. 
Some people even run the cows, or push them, into water, but 
I would rather not recommend any such brutality. Experienced 
dairymen told me that cows which are with calf are apt to miscarry 
after taking lime. (Lime kept for that purpose on a farm should 
be kept in air-tight tin boxes, to keep it from the action of the air, 
else it will not do anj^ good.) 

These remedies may all be very useful if the illness is noticed 
immediately when it begins. Where there is a suitable herdsman 
this no doubt will be the case, but generally some person is put in 
such a place who is no earthly account for anything else on the 
farm, and this is a serious error on the part of the manager. Gen- 
erally the horrid state of the animal is only noticed when it shows 
but too plainly, as for instance, when the poor thing, from the acute 
pain, rolls itself on the ground, and then perhaps some of those 
remedies are not on hand and very often the manager is not tbere, 
and in duty bound a formal report should be made to him, while in 
the meantime, considering the rapid progress of the sickness, the 



44 

cow has entered already upon the last stage of it, and if the trocar 
is not speedily employed the perhaps very valuable animal is lost. 
(The best cows are genf rally attacked by it, from reasons I have 
stated under head of " Herding." ) Even if the operation with the 
trocar is successful the animal will be sick after it, if not for ever, 
at least for a long time. I do not reject the mentioned remedies, 
I only intend to show their use. 

I shall now give to my readers a proceeding, as introduced by 
my father, for the quick cure of colic in cattle (horses included). 

The instrument used is a gutta-percha pipe 6 feet long, 1 inch 
diameter, gradually getting less towards the end, and finishing at ^ 
inch diameter ; it is hollow and closed at the end, which is rounded ; 
about li inch from the lower end it has on the one side an oval- 
shaped opening (lengthways) 2 inches long and i inch wide; two 
inches farther up, on the opposite side, is another opening like it. 

This pipe is pushed (the lower and round end first) through the 
gullet of the animal into its stomach. As soon as the pipe reaches 
the stomach, the compressed sour air contained in it escapes with 
such force that some of the feed particles are driven with it into 
the pipe. To prevent a stopping up of the pipe, a willow switch, 
from which the bark has been removed, is inserted into the pipe 
before the o^x^ration, and during it quickly withdrawn. As soon as 
the air rusJies from tJie stomach, tJie animal is saved ; but the cure is 
not quite finished. The fermentation in the stomach generally lasts 
several hours longer, and in order to remove it, it is necessary to 
employ absorbing remedies. The easiest and simplest is one-half to 
one pound of fine white sugar, dissolved in milk or water, to be 
given to the cow by little and little for an hour. During this time 
the animal must not eat anything. 

To keep the animal from crushing the pipe with its teeth, and to 
facilitate the adjusting of it, one should use a wooden mouth-piece, 
(thick enough to keep the mouth of the amimal open,) with a hole 



45 

in the centre so large as to admit tlie passage'of tlie pipe freely. It 
sliould be long enough to protrude about one or two inches on each 
side of the mouth, to be able to fasten the ends to the neck of the 
animal, and keep the pipe and mouth-piece stationary. Immedi- 
ately after the use the pipe should be well cleaned. 

Before closing, I would say a few words about the milk produc- 
tiveness of some cows. I have asked a good many dairy farmers, 
here and in Europe, which cow they considered best for the dairy, 
and found opinions greatly at variance . In Europe, on the dairy 
lands of the Baltic coast, the Danish crossed with Ayrshire is the 
favorite. In the neighborhood of large towns, where the sale of 
fresh milk is the object, the Devon and the large Oldenburg. The 
last named would do splendidly here. The large Dutch cow, if fed 
well, gives a great deal of milk, but rather watery, I think. Here, 
in America, I find the Alderney quite a favorite, and justly so, on 
the right kind of pasture ; besides, she is such a beauty. The Ayr- 
shire and Jersey (and this last one is my favorite) are splendid 
dairy cows. For richness of cream, I opine the Jersey can not be 
surpassed. 

Dairymen should examine well their young calves, as to future 
great milk productiveness, before selling them to the butcher. 
Many a promising calf would not be slaughtered, and many a one 
that never will make anything would not be carefully raised, to 
aggravate its owner afterwards. 



